


The Bird and The Wolf; or, Little Red Robin Hood

by lovebeyondmeasure



Series: lbm's trope mashups [1]
Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: Alternate Universe - Little Red Riding Hood Fusion, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Robin Hood References, Trope Mashup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 09:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14734626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovebeyondmeasure/pseuds/lovebeyondmeasure
Summary: Sure as sunrise, the Wolf is there to stop the coach, demanding the banker pay him a goodly sum. To Robin’s surprise, however, the Wolf gives a reason.





	The Bird and The Wolf; or, Little Red Robin Hood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lindmea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lindmea/gifts).



> Linds prompted a [trope mash-up](http://lovebeyondmeasure.tumblr.com/post/174158556839/) of Criminal AU + Fairy Tale AU, and here it is. This might be one of my favorite pieces I've ever done in this fandom, honestly.

Robin has heard about the Wolf in the woods- huge and ugly, robbing important men as they traveled into and out of town. Despite the urging of her betrothed that they marry and she settle down to spin and weave, Robin cannot resist the urge to know. So on an afternoon she knows the banker is traveling, Robin puts on her red cloak, tells her mother she’s going to pick flowers and herbs in the field, and follows along at a safe distance behind.

Sure as sunrise, the Wolf is there to stop the coach, demanding the banker pay him a goodly sum. To Robin’s surprise, however, the Wolf gives a reason: the banker’s son dishonored a young woman, and abandoned her with her growing belly and no way to support herself or the child. The banker had known and sent his son away to school, to escape the scandal. The Wolf demanded not ransom, but justice, for a young woman who would find no other. Once the banker pays, telling his driver to tell not a soul, and disappears through the woods, the Wolf turns down the road.

“I know you’re there, little bird,” he says in his deep rough voice. “Have you come to be eaten by the Big Bad Wolf?” Robin comes boldly closer, knowing in her bones that she has nothing to fear from him. She has never done wrong to a living soul. “And you’re a pretty bird. I could surely eat you up.”

“But you will not,” she says, looking up at him. He wears the head of a wolf, its pelt flung over his back like a cape. She thinks he is the woodcutter, who lives so all-alone out in the forest. “You do not hurt the weak or rob the poor. I heard you. You are not a criminal. You seek justice.”

And she can see this on his battered and scarred face. He is not a good man, for a good man would have sought other recourse. But he is a just man, and in her heart Robin feels that this must be better.

“I do,” he says, a single nod. “And you? What do you seek?”

She considers this. His gaze is fixed on her face. “I seek answers,” she says. “I seek to shine a light on the darkness, to see what dwells within.”

“Oh, you will not like what you find there, little bird,” he says. “Many ugly things live in the dark hearts of men.”

“Then I shall see them, and know them, and name them,” she says, chin jutting up, a challenge. “I know enough of darkness, I think, to survive it.”

“Do you,” he says, and it is not a question, not really. “And what were you seeking here in the woods today, little bird? Darkness?” He spreads his hands, open and empty. “Here I am, then.”

“Perhaps,” she says. “But I do not think I have found it.”

“Then what have you found?”

“I do not know,” she says. In her red hood, facing down the Wolf, she has never felt so strong. 

“You have seen my face now, little bird,” he says. 

“I have.”

“What should I do about that?” He may be menacing, but she is not afraid.

“You should tell me your name,” she says. “And invite me to join you for supper, for my basket is full of good things to eat.”

“Oh?” he says. “And why should I do that?”

“Because,” she says, “I know more than you might think of the darkness of men’s hearts, and might have knowledge you would like to share as well.”

They stand in silence, and his gaze is a heavy, hot thing on her skin. 

“I am Cormoran,” he says. “Lead on, then, little bird.”

**Author's Note:**

> Reblog on tumblr [here.](http://lovebeyondmeasure.tumblr.com/post/174163465964/) Send me prompts any time on tumblr; anon is always on.
> 
> Thanks for your support, friends! I have a bunch of things simmering away for this fandom, so I promise, your patience and wonderful comments and kudos will be well rewarded in the next few months. Love you all.


End file.
